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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29194098">bubblegum</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/dominozaza/pseuds/dominozaza'>dominozaza</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hunter X Hunter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Doctor Leorio Paladiknight, Fluff and Angst, Gon Freecss (Mentioned) - Freeform, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by Music, Killua Zoldyck (Mentioned) - Freeform, No Lesbians Die, Song Lyrics, WHY IS THAT A ATAG I DIDNT MEAN THAT LAST TAG its true but HELP, i still dont know how to tag, i think thats what its called help its in all lowercase, kurapika kurta - Freeform, kurapika's just sad sorry, kurapika's working :(, lapslock, leorio paladiknight - Freeform, no beta we die like men</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 04:02:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,282</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29194098</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/dominozaza/pseuds/dominozaza</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>kurapika's having a shitty day and chews some bubblegum. with it comes memories and a phone call.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kurapika &amp; Leorio Paladiknight</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>bubblegum</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>heyyyy  u know the drill i wrote this late at night i barely looked over it so i apogolize for any mistakes SORRY FR. but yeah there's no tws for this one?? except like. angst but not really its just bleh nothing worse than what the show does SO. okay last thing this is Heavily inspired by bubblegum by clairo i would sell my soul for that song shoutout to clairo yall</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>click click click</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>the pen in kurapika’s hand bounced up and down, his other hand curled in his untidy hair. the paperwork stared up at him, mocking; it was supposed to be done by yesterday, and kurapika’s temporary boss was on his ass about it. really, he had no real reason to put it off; it wasn’t incredibly complex or long or about an unsavory topic. kurapika simply couldn’t put his mind to pen to paper and it was driving him insane. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>the blonde sighed, setting the pen down to rub his temples and glance up at the window. there was one cheap lamp in the room, sitting at the same desk kurapika was trying to work at, and it made his reflection almost clear in the window. outside stretched yet another large city, lights flickering and cars honking loud as ever. his eyes flicked to the analog clock on the side of the hotel bed, eyes closing in exhaustion seeing it was nearly 2 am. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>kurapika nearly fell asleep there, and definitely would have if there wasn’t a loud bang somewhere outside.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>up in a heartbeat, kurapika stood to try and look to see what was happening below. there was no shouting, no struggling, nothing except for some stupid dog barking a block over. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>kurapika ran his hands through his hair, sighing again. his heartbeat pounded in his ears, loud enough to diminish any chance he had of hearing what happened. he fell face forward onto the bed, body outstretched.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>yet again, he couldn’t sleep. his heartbeat was going too fast for comfort. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>groaning in frustration kurapika sat up, pulling open the wooden drawer of the bedside table. he had the bubblegum unwrapped and in his mouth in a second.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>the effect was nearly immediate; he fell back onto the bed, heartbeat slowing, memories slowly making their way through his head. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>of gon. and killua. and leorio.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>sometime after getting killua back from his god-awful family they’d passed by a farmer’s market. the next train they needed to be on wouldn't be until the next day, so the four had the rest of the decreasing daylight to themselves. kurapika remembered the sweet sweet smell of honey under his nose after gon proudly showed him a jar he bought from someone who claimed to be a magical beekeeper. he remembers how he caught killua giving gon a kind smile, only to catch him staring and replace it with a scowl. he remembers leorio dragging him to a headache-inducing perfume stand, smelling so many on his wrist he got dizzy. he remembers buying a thin charm bracelet with small black beads on it because he liked the way it felt around his wrist; kurapika doesn’t know where it is now. but the memory that stood out was the one of the four gathering round a painfully bright stand with candy galore. gon had yelled in excitement, killua laughing at the odd face he’d made. leorio grinned down at kurapika, a light lollipop sticking out of his mouth. kurapika remembers how warm his chest had felt. how impossibly full and loved he felt in that moment. nothing he’d felt since then, even the anger or pain or frustration, could compare to it. the other three had forced him to buy something from the stand just because they’d taken so long sitting there, so kurapika bought the first gum sitting on the counter. the same kind he was blowing a bubble with now. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>kurapika stopped chewing, rolling over to curl up. <em>god</em>, he missed them. missed gon’s goofy smile and killua’s more than questionable fashion choices. and of course, leorio’s warm smiles. kurapika had always known leorio was a warm and caring person, that the greed for money was all a front. always known that once he finished this, once he finished his quest for revenge and once leorio graduated from school and once they were both okay, kurapika know he’d like to go back to leorio. spend as much time that he’d sat in empty hotel rooms missing him instead sitting next to him in front of a warm fire or watching a stupid tv show. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>kurapika <em>missed</em> him. missed him and gon and killua so bad it felt like his chest was a cave and it was crumbling in on itself. kurapika curled in tighter, clenching the dusty hotel sheets so hard his knuckles turned white. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>he was crying. weeping. sobbing. whatever. it was late and he’d be tired tomorrow anyway, what was one crying session? </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>he shivered after a bit, coughing quietly as he tried to slide under the thin blankets. just as kurapika felt sleep reaching for him, his gods forsaken phone buzzed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>he grunted, rolling over to see who the hell was texting him at this hour, only to see it was basically an /ad/ from his music app. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>halfway under the covers, kurapika frowned. then sighed, opening the app to turn on his one and only playlist. it was pretty long, as he’d had the app for a good year or two and he put every song he liked on there. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>he turned back around, nuzzling into the covers yet again to try and sleep. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>an ad played, and then the stupid song. </span>
</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>sorry i didn’t kiss you</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span><em>but it’s obvious i wanted to</em> </span>
</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>tears filled kurapika’s eyes again, forming too fast for him to blink them out. he sat up, pulling his knees to his chest as the song played behind his cries. kurapika’s ears rang.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>it was short, and finished in about a minute. kurapika stared at the phone, face blank.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>maybe it was because it was 2 am, or because his emotions were running high or because that night was particularly bad, but before kurapika could talk himself out of it he was on his phone opening the message app.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>the profile was too bland, making kurapika cringe. though it was something only an embarrassing middle schooler would do, kurapika added a heart next to the name. and he sent the song he was listening to.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>2:14 AM</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>You</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Link: Bubblegum by Clairo</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>You</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>this song reminds me of me and u </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>kurapika set the phone down, digging his face into his knees again. he almost fell asleep for the third time that night when his phone /buzzed/.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>it was in his hand in a second, eyes taking a second to adjust to the screen's brightness.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>2:22 AM</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>leorio &lt;3</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>u sweet stupid fuck </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>leorio &lt;3</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>go to sleep sunshine </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>kurapika’s breath caught in his throat and he coughed. loudly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>2:23 AM</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>You</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>it’s not That late </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>leorio &lt;3</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>what timezone are you in</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>kurapika bite the inside of his mouth, chewing it for a second. he didn’t like telling leorio where he was, no matter how much the other despised it. kurapika knew he made leorio worried, but keeping him safe was more important. but this... leorio was smart. kurapika smiled slightly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>2:24 AM</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>You</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>pst + 4 </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>leorio &lt;3</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>what the hell is that </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>You</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>my timezone idiot</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>thats what you asked for </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>leorio &lt;3</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>i asked for your timezone not a math problem </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>You</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>ur a doctor u can handle it </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>how’s school? </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>leorio &lt;3</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>HEY you're changing the subject </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>2:26AM </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>leorio &lt;3</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>it’s good, though</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>exams are soon and studying is the worst but </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>i’m almost done with this semester </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>You</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>i’m glad </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>not about the exams part that sucks ass that’s why i dont miss school</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>leorio &lt;3</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>boo</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>youre supposed to cheer me on </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>kurapika stared at the last message, face warm and chest warmer. he typed in an answer, then deleted it. everything seemed either too... friendly or too mean. he ran a hand through his hair </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>2:32AM </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>leorio &lt;3</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>pika?</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>2:35AM </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>You</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>SORRY i dozed off </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>leorio &lt;3</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>go to sleep :( </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>You</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>no shut up </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>i have an idea to keep you motivated to study </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>leorio &lt;3</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>oh?</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>kurapika bit his tongue. he hadn’t realized it, but while he was texting he’d found his way under the blankets again, warm as can be. he took a breath then sent the message.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>You</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>if u do well on ur exams ill come over and make you a cake </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>for free </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>no taxes </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>leorio &lt;3</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>u seem to think highly of yourself</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>kurapika’s heart felt like it fell out of his chest. he coughed, choking on air. his phone lit up with leorio’s contact name in bright letters and buzzed, making kurapika drop it onto his face. it hit the green button and before he knew it leorio’s voice was coming through the speaker.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“hey sunshine,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>kurapika’s eyes widened slightly and he cleared his throat, still recovering from choking on pure air. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“hi leorio,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>a beat. then-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“what time is it for you?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>not thinking, kurapika said, “it’s two am.” he cringed, finally hearing the exhaustion in his voice.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“why aren’t you asleep?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“why aren’t <em>you</em>?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“because it’s two in the afternoon for me,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>kurapika slid lower into the sheets as if he could hide from the concern in leorio’s voice.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“why did you call? your fingers get tired or something, old man?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>leorio scoffed. “shut up shortie.” he laughed when kurapika immediately interrupted him in protest. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“no... i just wanted to hear your voice, that’s all,” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>kurapika was suddenly grateful leorio couldn’t see his face as he was sure it was the color of a peach. he dug his face into the pillow, then curled up yet again, phone speaker next to his mouth.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“did you like the song i sent you?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“of course. i didn’t even know you listened to that kinda stuff,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“what kinda stuff?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“lovey-dovey stuff,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>kurapika dug his face deeper into the pillow. “it was <em>not</em>,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“have you even looked at the lyrics?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>kurapika frowned a bit. “i mean, i heard some of them. <em>you</em> did?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>this time leorio’s voice sounded muffled, as if he was digging his face into a pillow in embarrassment too. “of course i did, that’s what you do when someone sends you a song and says it reminds them of you,” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“you’re wrong,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“huh?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“i said it reminds me of <em>me and</em> you. not just you. us. us two. dós,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>there was silence for a second before the two both started laughing. leorio’s loud laughter mixed with kurapika’s muffled giggles. kurapika felt light, like he had all the time and money in the world. there was a lull in leorio’s laughter and kurapika’s confidence boosted for a second and he spoke, again too fast for him to talk himself out of it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“actually, i only heard the first ten seconds and was reminded of you, so i guess you’re right,” leorio laughter slowed to chuckles. but kurapika was on a roll.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“hey, do you remember that day we got killua back from his family and walked around the farmer’s market? and we got all that sticky honey and stuff? and you guys forced me to buy this bubblegum?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“hm?” kurapika could practically hear leorio thinking. “oh! yes, i remember that. we didn’t <em>force</em> you, it was just a strong a <em>suggestion</em> and-“</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“i still have it. not that same package i mean, it would’ve gone bad by now, but i found a place where they sell it for cheap and i got a bunch and i was feeling shitty tonight so i popped in a few pieces and i- well...” kurapika laughed awkwardly, face so hot he felt the need to wipe his forehead. he was running out of confidence juice and he had to figure out a way to end his sentence normally. shit. “i- um...” his voice quieted and he let out a sigh. “i miss you. and gon and killua. i really-“ kurapika broke off, feeling his breath catch in his throat. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>leorio was silent over the line for a second. for so long that kurapika checked the call to make sure he hadn’t accidentally hung up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“i miss you too, kurapika,” leorio sounded on the edge of tears. kurapika winced, tears spilling over now. he wanted so badly to see leorio again, to laugh at his stupid jokes and clean his annoyingly small glasses for him because he never bothered to. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>kurapika sniffled, taking in a breath. “when do your exams end?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>leorio was quick to respond. “the beginning of june,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>it was the end of april. it’d been a particularly cold winter and early spring, and june was about a month away. one long month. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“i’ll be there, leorio. i promise, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“for how long? an hour? a day?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>kurapika’s vision blurred. he took a deep breath before answering. “i don’t know. i’m sorry, i’m sorry leorio. but i swear i’ll be there for a bit. okay?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>leorio’s voice was quiet on the line. “okay.” kurapika practically saw him take in a deep breath, nod to himself. “okay. now get to bed, pika,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>kurapika sighed, gripping the phone tightly. he wanted to stay on call with leorio forever. he nodded, though the other couldn’t see it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“goodnight leorio,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“goodnight sunshine,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>kurapika stared at the phone for a split second before spitting out his last bit of confidence. “i love you,”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>the world stilled for a moment. leorio softly laughed on the other line. “i love you, too,” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>before kurapika could say anything else, declare any more love proclamations, his phone beeped and the call ended. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>kurapika dug his face into his pillow, wetting it in seconds. he turned around, staring up at the ceiling as leorio’s words echoed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>he smiled then, a pained sort of one. a month. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>kurapika drifted to sleep, uninterrupted for the rest of the night.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>:3&gt;</p></blockquote></div></div>
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